


Found Connection

by sabell



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Awkward Flirting, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, M/M, POV Tsukishima Kei, Pining Tsukishima Kei, he thinks yams is the most beautiful creature he's ever seen, thats it thats the fic. send tweet, tsukki and yams meet for the firs time at the museum, tsukki is immediately absolutely obsessed, tsukkiyama - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-09
Updated: 2021-01-09
Packaged: 2021-03-13 03:47:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,075
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28647024
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sabell/pseuds/sabell
Summary: "Imagine Tsukki trying to flirt by throwing out random facts about the stuff in the museum and then walking away because he got flustered"Kei is obsessed with the pretty guy who visits his museum. Now if only he could figure out how to talk to him normally.written for a discord pal !
Relationships: Tsukishima Kei/Yamaguchi Tadashi
Comments: 22
Kudos: 207





	Found Connection

**Author's Note:**

> If you're one of my more serious readers who wants Long Heartfelt fics then ignore this lmao. I might someday add to it, but probs not immediately. it's 3am and I'm just in Writers Mode lmao. Anywhomst, please enjoy this tsukkiyama meet-cute !

“ _To the tall brunette in his mid 20s in the Sendai Museum of Natural History today. I saw you standing in the newest titanosaur exhibit and couldn’t help but notice the way you spent ten whole minutes trying to pronounce Patagotitan Mayorum under your breath. I found it admittedly charming. If you see this………….”_

Kei stares at the series of dots he’s just typed out on his computer screen, his cursor blinking at him mockingly as he tries to remember what exactly it is people write to wrap up their missed connection posts on Craigslist. He tries to go back to the main page to scroll through some examples, but the screen of his ancient laptop freezes and that feels close enough to the hand of God telling him to stop for the blonde to give up on the post and push away from his desk with an embarrassed sigh. What had he been thinking? No one under the age of 60 uses missed connections anymore, but given Kei’s profession as a keeper of prehistoric bones and his utter lack of knowledge when it comes to technology, maybe he can’t blame himself for thinking like a retired old man. He stares at his smartphone, which stays silent. He’s heard about Tinder and Grindr and all the rest of those new fangled dating apps, but he’s never actually looked into what it takes to use one. He’s never had a reason to want to before. But… maybe the brunette from the museum uses those kinds of apps. Maybe he should call Hinata and ask him what to do. Maybe he should…

Kei shakes his head and moves into the kitchen, pouring himself some of his leftover tea from the kettle that’s cooled down on the stove, the leaves having steeped for too long, making the overall experience bitter and lukewarm. 

“This is lame,” he grumbles to himself before abandoning his cup and getting back in bed. He has work tomorrow. The fact that a pretty brunette with skin so freckled that it looked like the reversed night sky on a moonless night showed up to look at dinosaur bones earlier today doesn’t change that. The fact that he’s maybe never _noticed_ someone quite like that before doesn’t excuse him from all of his responsibilities. The fact that he’s been pretty damn lonely since Hinata and Kageyama moved to Tokyo together to pursue their shared dream of playing volleyball professionally doesn’t mean he can totally lose his mind at the first nice face he sees. He throws off his clothes angrily and settles beneath his comforter, setting his alarm clock and plugging in his phone before switching off his bedside lamp, plunging his small apartment into darkness. In the low light filtering in from the street below his poorly curtained windows, Kei can see the strange shadows that always settle on his ceiling around this time of night. He has yet to figure out what it is in his room that makes these shapes. Usually they look like a map of some unexplored world to him, but tonight they kind of look like a mess of long, unruly hair, a section of which stands higher than the rest in a way that makes Kei’s heart beat faster. He closes his eyes resolutely. He needs to stop acting like such a love sick middle schooler. It’s pathetic. 

* * *

Kei is patrolling the halls of the museum, idly looking for a stuffed animal a parent called asking about after the last family tour of the day. It hasn’t been turned into the lost and found yet and Kei’s shift is nearly over and he’d prefer to take a walk than have to do any actual cataloguing in the back on a Tuesday afternoon because he hates the guy who works in the back every Tuesday afternoon, so he’s using the toy as an excuse to stretch his legs. It’s not his worst ploy ever. 

He’s admiring from afar some of the precious stones in the Hall of Gems exhibit when he spots it, a piece of chestnut hair peeking out from behind one of the freestanding display cases. Kei stops. He takes a breath. He _strongly_ considers just continuing on his walk, but something about the way the spotlight above the display makes that stupid piece of hair shine brighter than any of the stones makes him reconsider. Although… maybe he never really had a choice. He turns to enter the gem room. 

And, yep, It’s him. It’s the brunette from yesterday.

The man moves to hunch in front of a hunk of alexandrite behind glass, the tiny stone the only one of its kind in the whole museum. The same could probably be said about the man inspecting it. Up close, Kei realizes that maybe he was wrong yesterday when he thought this guy was pretty. The reality is, he’s _gorgeous._ His hair is a mess and looks like it’s still it’s natural color despite the many silver hoops climbing up the sides his ears that indicate a somewhat alternative lifestyle, but there’s some strange quality to those shaggy locks that make it look like this guy’s hair has been dipped in something like liquid malachite, the ethereal effect making the man look like something out of one of the mythical story books Kei used to read as a kid. A woodnymph maybe, or a dryad. Something wholly earthly yet untouchably magical. Kei gulps. 

The freckles don’t help things. They make the man’s skin look incredibly inviting, and Kei can’t help but trace a few patterns into the man’s exposed arm with his gaze, constellations that he remembers from his brief stint studying astronomy laid out before him, tantalizingly close. If the man’s hair is the earth, and his skin is the night sky, then what about his eyes? Kei feels his throat dry. He suddenly needs to know. 

“Alexandrite is one of the most valuable gemstones. It’s a variety of chrysoberyl.” He tenses as the man turns toward him with a jolt, clearly surprised by Kei’s sudden appearance. The blonde has all of two seconds to regret every decision that he has ever made that's brought him to this moment before his mind is blanking as he takes in the feathery brown color of the freckled man’s wide eyes, hints of the same green that’s in his hair present here too, but fainter, softer, a light dancing in their depths in a way that makes Kei feel _alive._ If this man’s hair is the earth and his skin the sky, then his eyes are what live between - some tiny bird or airborne spirit, the thing that unites mere humans like Kei to the unattainable vastness of the heavens. Those eyes feel like they could do things to Kei that he’s never even fathomed needing, yet now somehow can’t imagine living without. They look like they could make this scary world feel like a home. 

“It - it changes color in different lighting. If you press that button there, the spotlight will change. It’s red in incandescent light and green in fluorescent light.” Kei can’t stop himself. The smaller man opens his mouth as though to respond, but he just keeps barreling on. “Alexandrite was discovered in 1830 in the Ural Mountains of Russia. They were named after Csar Alexander II. The museum closes in an hour. Please enjoy your visit.” He turns on his heels and flees. 

It takes until Kei has cleared the whole second floor and made his way down into the basement level before he even realizes what’s just happened. He nearly collapses against one of the taxidermied leopards in the jungle exhibit. “Holy fuck,” he whispers to himself, putting a hand on the wall to steady himself. “Holy fuck.” _What the hell was that?_ Kei’s never been the type to get nervous in front of strangers. He might be awkward and kind of mean and painfully antisocial at times, but he’s never done something like _that_. He turns to bang his head against the wall before thinking better of it. That was… humiliating. Hopefully the pretty freckled nymph guy never visits the museum again. Kei huffs. Hopefully he can avoid making thinking of that guy by that name a habit, too. 

* * *

Pretty freckled nymph guy shows up again the next day. Kei finds him sooner this time, spotting the man loitering near the front of the T Rex exhibit. He’s looking up at the underside of the skull of FMNH PR 2081, his back to Kei as he rocks back on his heels, allowing Kei a small moment to admire him. He’s wearing an oversized black cable knit sweater over a torn up pair of jeans, a silver chain peeking out from beneath the hem of the sweater, the painted nails of his right hand idly tracing the top few links while his left tugs at the thin, leather cord that’s tied around his slender neck before tucking some of his hair behind one of his ears. 

“FMNH PR 2081, better known as Sue, is on loan from America. The negotiation to get her here took years. It was a real pain,” Kei says, stepping up to stand beside the other man. This time he doesn’t jump at Kei’s presence, his eyes widening a fraction before he’s shuffling his feet a little, angling towards Kei to show that he’s listening, a tiny, crooked smile gracing his stupidly pretty lips. “She’s one of largest and best preserved Tyrannosaurus Rex specimens ever found, over 90% recovered by bulk. She was discovered by Sue Hendrickson in the 90s.” Kei almost wants to smile back at the man next to him, his easy show of interest making Kei feel significantly less freaked out than he had the day before. It helps that he’s talking about his favorite display. It really had been a lot of work getting FMNH PR 2081 to Sendai, and because of his position as low man on the totem pole Kei had been left with a lot of the grunt work, but goddamn if it hadn’t been worth it. 

“She… She’s very beautiful,” the man says quietly, and that alone has Kei forgetting any amount of confidence he’d thought he’d gathered. 

“I agree,” he says simply before bowing slightly and starting to walk away. “Please enjoy the rest of your visit, sir.” 

“Tadashi.” The freckled man says it with an unsure smile, a small offering tossed at Kei’s back. He turns to look over his shoulder, trying to keep to himself whatever shocked expression he’s sure is currently dominating his face. 

“Tadashi,” he says, trying the name out and finding that it melts in his mouth deliciously. “Have a good rest of your day, Tadashi-san.” 

* * *

“Good morning,” Tadashi-san’s voice greets him the next day, the brunette’s dulcet tone coming from behind Kei as he wrestles with one of the taxidermy animals a few shitty teenagers toppled over during the third field trip of the morning. He nearly drops it again at the suddenness of being called out first. It’s way too early for this. 

“Good morning,” he greets back politely, glancing over at where he’s accidentally left the east doors to the exhibit open. “Sorry, this exhibit is supposed to be closed while I fix this. I forgot to close the doors.” 

“Oh… sorry. Right, sorry, I can leave.” Tadashi sounds embarrassed, and Kei has to crane over his armful of stiff, dead animal to see the way the other man has started dejectedly making his way to the door. He doesn’t like that. He doesn’t want to be the one to have put that slump in the other man’s spine. He looks down at the work he still has to do and sighs. 

“Just - just kick that door stop and let the doors close. You can stay. Just don’t let any other teenagers in here.” 

There’s a short silence before he hears Tadashi muffle a laugh. Quick steps followed by the creak and slam of the doors let Kei know that he and his ethereal nymph man are now totally alone. 

“Need help?” Tadashi’s voice asks from somewhere to Kei’s left. 

“Yes, but I can’t let you touch anything. Just watch me struggle for a bit and if I lose this fight, then... call security or something, okay?” 

“You can count on me.” Kei can still hear his smile. 

It takes the blonde a full solid five minutes to get his bearings again and finally right the taxidermied animal back onto its stand, then another ten to cover up whatever minor damage was done to the fake plants that surround it. When he’s finally done, he’s almost forgotten that he has an audience. 

“Looks good as new, uh… museum worker-san,” Tadashi says playfully, stepping up lightly behind Kei to admire his handiwork over his shoulder. Kei stiffens, the sudden closeness making him remember what it is about the other man that makes him so different from anyone else Kei has ever met. He can almost _feel_ the beautiful stranger against him, his breath tickling at the hairs on the back of Kei’s neck. He turns slightly and finds himself staring straight into the sun, Tadashi’s gentle grin bright enough to make Kei squint, the silent laughter in his eyes making Kei’s chest squeeze. 

“Tsukishima. Tsukishima Kei,” he says, tongue suddenly too tied to say anything else. 

“Tsukishima,” Tadashi repeats with a crooked smile, stepping up to stand next to him, finally giving Kei the space he needs to think again. “It’s good to meet you, Tsukishima-san. I’m Yamaguchi Tadashi.” 

“Yamaguchi…” Kei says, eyebrows knitting together as he contemplates the name. “That’s your family’s name? You… you offered me your first name yesterday?” 

“Oh… yeah. Sorry, too bold?” The sheepish grin he gives Kei makes the blonde’s brain short circuit. All he can do is shrug. 

“Not if that’s what you’d like to be called.” 

“Okay, cool,” Tadashi says, his tone almost grateful as he rocks back on his heels, glancing around the room before smiling up at Kei. “Does that mean I can call you Kei?” 

“No. I have a boss who probably wouldn’t appreciate it if it seemed like I was getting overly friendly with patrons.” 

“Are you being overly friendly with me?”

“I… yes, probably.”

“Hm…” Tadashi says, pretending to think, “Tsukishima then? Or could I give you a nickname? Blondie? Glasses?” Kei grimaces, “or… Tsukki?” Kei blinks. It’s cutesy, too cutesy to be applied to him, and it’s not like anything he’s ever been called before - hell, it almost sounds like a term of _endearment_ \- but coming out of Tadashi’s mouth, it’s… kind of nice. He shrugs again. 

“Whatever you want. Not blondie, though.”

“Tsukki it is,” Tadashi says with maybe the most beguiling smile yet. Kei’s mouth feels suddenly, unbearably dry. He swallows, hard. “So what now, Tsukki? Did the teens tear down any other parts of the display?” 

“No. Not here, at least. We should probably…” Kei looks to the door. The moment feels incomplete somehow, like there’s something here to accomplish before he opens those doors, before he lets Tadashi go. If only the freckles on the other man’s face weren’t so distracting…

“Are you - I mean, do you have a lunch break soon?” 

“What?” He has to shake himself a little to recalibrate his brain, refocusing on the man in front of him. Tadashi is looking sheepish again, only this time in a more insecure way.

“I just… if you - maybe this is dumb, I - sorry, Tsukki, never mind -”

“No, sorry, I wasn’t paying attention. What were you asking?” Kei desperately, _desperately_ needs Tadashi to finish his sentence. 

“If you - if you maybe were gonna eat lunch soon, I thought maybe we could - I mean, you don’t have to, but -”

“Let me buy you lunch.” The words are out of his mouth before he has time to overthink them. Tadashi’s eyes widen as he searches Kei’s face, their luminous depths like pools of twinkling lights as his face starts to scrunch in a beautiful laugh. Kei feels like reality is going in slow motion, Tadashi’s happy face suddenly close enough for him to watch every freckle dance up at him from under the pink flush that has overtaken the other man’s face as he continues to laugh, the note of relief in that beautiful sound like music to Kei’s ears. He wants to listen to that sound forever, he wants to watch this face forever. Suddenly, nothing matters outside of this moment. 

“Good, okay, cool. Yeah. Let’s go to lunch. What time are you off?” 

“Doesn’t matter. Right now.” Is he being too eager? “Let me grab my coat from the back. Do you have a coat at the coat check?” 

“Yeah, I’ll go get it.” 

“Okay, I’ll meet you at the front in five minutes.” 

“Okay, cool.” 

They stand behind the closed doors for a minute, looking at each other, and Tadashi’s blatant excitement is so contagious that Kei finds himself brimming with self satisfaction. 

“Oh, wow.” Tadashi’s voice is suddenly soft, making Kei blink. 

“What?” 

“You were smiling. You looked… It was really nice.” He smiles up at Kei shyly, making the blonde feel like the temperature in his body has suddenly been hiked up by 100 degrees. He’s pretty sure he’s blushing. Somehow, he doesn’t really care. 

“You look nice when you smile, too,” he whispers back, making a look of surprise flit across the brunette’s features before he’s full blown grinning again, making Kei’s heart pound in his ears. 

“Go get your coat, I’ll meet you at the front. Let’s go get lunch,” Tadashi says, one hand reaching for the door. Kei reaches for it at the same time, his hand ending up covering Tadashi’s for a brief moment before they’re both pulling back and laughing nervously, eventually finding their way outside of the exhibit room and back out in the hall. They stare at each other for another moment, reluctant to part. 

“Okay.”

“Alright.”

“See you in a few minutes.”

“Yup! See you soon.” 

“Okay.” Kei turns on his heels and marches himself away, his hand flexing at his side. He’s about to go on a lunch date with the most ethereally beautiful person that he’s ever met. Him, Tsukishima Kei, Japan’s most boringly mortal man. He can’t help but smile to himself. He’s looking forward to getting to know Yamaguchi Tadashi. 

**Author's Note:**

> Kei being absolutely head over heels for Tadashi is the only thing that gets me through the day :")
> 
> Also I made a Twitter, come follow me let’s be mutuals lmao @Sabell666


End file.
